Tiny Book of Books
I’m really into seeing what kinds of things people are doing with their hands these days, and what kinds of small activities bring them joy and keep them grounded. This is one of mine.
I was so very lucky to spend nearly 17 years of my life writing about queer pop culture for LGBTQ+ folks — but I have to tell you a secret: I was reaaaally bored of my own opinions there at the end, and very ready to move my career in a different direction. I was born to write and talk endlessly about the things I love, and there’s lots of sapphic stories to delight in these days. I could do that forever. I will do that forever. And when things are harmful, of course I want to stand up and push back against them. But movies and books and TV shows and music and webseries and podcasts and video games that are just whatever to me? I would much rather read about those things from someone else, someone who actually cares about them, than to wrestle an opinion out of my brain and punch out a bunch of tired words.
When I left my last job, I promised myself I would never write another bad review again for the rest of my entire life. Because, why? It doesn’t add anything good to the world to be a dick about something just because it doesn’t appeal to my own personal tastebuds. In fact, the people I know who have the most to say about “bad” art, and who are obsessed with telling you what’s “actually good,” and who are eager to form strong opinions about every single thing they encounter so they can tell everyone else about it — they’re the most insecure people I have ever met. The whole reason they do what they do is because it makes them feel cool and smart and superior. Classic middle school bully stuff.
One of my best moves from the past few years has been starting a book review notebook. If I really love something, I’ll leave a public review of it in all the places that help writers (GoodReads, Amazon, etc.) But if I hate something, or even just like it okay, I shelve it and move on with my life. Not everything was created with me as its intended audience!
However, I do still love to keep track of all the things I read. Plus, even books I hate usually have something in them for me, some line of dialogue or a moment that sticks with me and makes my world a little fuller. So I bought myself a mini Moleskine and named it Tiny Book of Books. Every time I finish a book, I fill in a page about it. It’s just title, author, my own private and personal rating — and then I do some kind of drawing or collage at the bottom of the page, so I can practice my art for my own personal fun.
I’m really into seeing what kinds of things people are doing with their hands these days, and what kinds of small activities bring them joy and keep them grounded. This is one of mine. I thought maybe you’d like to see it! I won’t post much; just a few pages, and just of recent books I enjoyed and have already publicly reviewed.
Chai and Cat-Tales by Lynn Strong
A Sorceress and Scones by Allie Leigh
The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon
The Mime Order by Samantha Shannon
A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine
A Desolation Called Peace by Arkady Martine
Two things:
Bet you didn’t know I write in cursive when I write by hand, did ya? I hope you’re old enough to be able to read cursive!
I have been keeping a log of the books I’ve read for over 20 years now. It started in paper notebooks and at some point, I moved it to an Excel file with a tab for each year.
What am I doing with my hands? I’m a string player, viola and violin. I play for the choir at church, have a weekly lesson (as my teacher’s oldest student) and play in two orchestras. And I practice. Every day for 1 or 2 hours.
Love this! I recently switched from GoodReads to Library Thing to StoryGraph, and it’s not really working for me. I mostly just want to track my reading, not rank books. Also, that cat looks exactly like the late great Squeaker of the House, 1986-2006.